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Hello Elle and Rusty!

I have been (and still am on and off) watching TV (France 2) since
11am, just as the procession was about to start on its long journey
up Avenue Foch, round the Arc de Triomphe , down the Champs,
through Place Concorde and down onto the Madeleine Church.
I also watched the Funerals inside the Madeleine, a lot of emotion
but also a lot of singing - all Johnny's musiciens did play several
of his hit along the procession as well as inside the Church!
I have never seen anything quite like it!
And like millions of French people, I too feel somewhat bewildered -
None of us expected him to leave us one day, he seemed indestructible.
There were indeed over 700 Bikers following the Hearse and family
cars, Johnny being a great biker himself, Harley-Davidson. Bikers
were his friends. In fact, all his fans were his friends, and he did
covered three generations of fans!

Laetitia, his widow, wanted such a ceremony for her husband, so
that the public could say a last farewell to their idole. She did a
very good job - and the public was very respectful during the
Church service, standing outside in the very cold weather.

Where did you watch it Rusty? Was it televised in UK/Scotland?

Hello, Pigale!
A very emotional day for France.
A legend has gone!
I saw the coverage on BBC Scotland News channel,(only a few minutes, though) but I imagine it was shown throughout the UK.
I am going to see if it has been posted on YouTube, later.
I thought the amount of motor bikes was astonishing!
And unexpected, too.
And enormous crowds lining the streets.
I have seen similar scenes on the streets of Milan, on YouTube, for Verdi's funeral.
I think somewhere in my Sky channels there is a French channel.
Possibly TV5?
But not a News channel.
A very sad day for France, Pigale!

Hi Rusty,

I watched it on my computer - TV Satellite does is not functionning
at present - and all I have to do is type www.ledirect.fr and then
have access at all the channels.
There are replays - The channel which covered the whole of the
event is fr2.

but try this British link if it works....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rilWsIDkYfY

I am sure there are others on youtube, be it in French or English!

Hello, Pigale!
Thank you for the link!
Quite remarkable scenes at the funeral!
A State Funeral in everything but name, I would say.
R.I.P. Johnny.

Hello Rusty!

Yes, but although a State Funeral was envisaged at first, the family
preferred what has become to be known as 'A Popular Funeral'.

the reason is that State Funerals in France mostly take place Place
des Invalides and that Place is closed to the public. This is what
Laetitia and his older children did not want. The public had to be
present.

But as you say, remarkable scenes, even inside the church.

Hope you are not freezing or too blowy?

Good evening, Rusty!
Brrrh...... it was very cold out!
The dog had a great time..... though even she needed a padded coat!
Since our return, we have been getting the Christmas tree and decorations down from the loft... a difficult task as there is no staircase as such......it involves climbing a ladder.....
However, mission finally accomplished...so all we have to do now is erect the tree, fix the lights, and then decorate it!
(Oh, and nail it down onto a board, so the cat cannot pull it over!)
I referred to Michelin man, as I knew he appeared padded...I think three of me could fit into his image though!
I haven't seen a picture of him of late.......I wonder why he is now "slimmer"?
Less cushy tyres?
What awards did Jo, Laura and Mo win this week, then ?
I didn't know that there had been any Athletics events/ ceremonies/ whatever?
What have I missed?



Hello, Pigale!
The funeral of your "French Elvis" sounds to have been a revered event..
It is wonderful that so many people came to pay tribute to his life, personality and talent.
I am amazed by the number of motor cyclists.......
And for it all to pass in so orderly a fashion, with such huge numbers of people involved, shows true respect.
An end of an era for the French.

Good evening, Elle!
Good luck with the tree raising!
I hope it is a Sholach tree!
Michelin took a decision years ago to slim Bibendum down so he looked healthier and more like their newer range of tyres.
I think it has worked.
Jo, Mo, Laura, and Eilish, all won awards in the Athletics Weekly magazine poll.
It was on my Twitter page.

Hi, Rusty!
I am afraid that, when finally put together, our tree is a Canadian Pine - not a Sholach!
It stands 5ft tall when erected, and does look very realistic!
It is however, an absolute bugbear to assemble, as there so many bits and pieces to fit together.
The trunk comes in segments, then all the branches (many of them !) fit in individually, too!
But it will look lovely when finished!
I have looked at the slimline version of Bibendum...seemingly he has looked like this since his 100th Anniversary in 1998...
And I never knew!

Hello, Elle!
Is that your tree up and decked out?
Yes, good old Bibendum has looked much slimmer for a few years now.
It is forecast to be minus 7C in Belfast overnight!
That is quite cold!
It's minus 1C here. Hard frost outside.

Hi, Rusty!
Goodness, no, not yet..... we shall make a start on the tree tomorrow.
First we have to nail the base to a board, else the cat will pull the tree over.....!
He likes to play with the fancy ornaments!
It is very cold here, too, by our standards.
We have rain from 5am tomorrow, degenerating into some snow showers.
Or so the BBC weather forecast on my computer tells me!
I hope the snow doesn't stick!